Portable electronic device have proliferated modern society. Cell phones, computing devices, personal digital assistants, MP3 players and the like are now commonplace electronics having generous amounts of computing power packaged in ever shrinking device profiles. The ability to package devices in smaller and smaller profiles is due at least in part to shrinking electronic components. Thus, the space necessary to house a sufficient number of electronic components to enable such complex devices continues to diminish. However, as the push for smaller device profiles continues, structural considerations become increasingly important.
When electronic devices were first introduced to modern markets, size was not a primary concern. Bulky devices utilizing tubes instead of solid state electronic components were commonplace. Even with the introduction of smaller electronic components like transistorized circuits, device profiles often lagged behind technological developments often resulting in devices filled mostly with air. Once new applications for electronic devices began to surge forward, demands for smaller devices ensued. Now, a portable music device, for example, may hold thousands of songs in a device profile no larger than a disposable lighter. With smaller profiles, component stacking and material selection has become more critical.
Typically, electronic devices are composed of many elements that may be serially stacked in a package. In one example, a keyboard may be stacked with a printed circuit board (PCB), a chassis, and bezel or cover plate. Stacking components generally allows a smaller profile in both x and y directions, but may lead to increased thickness in a z direction. In attempting to reduce profiles in a z direction, increasingly thinner material thicknesses may be utilized. However, thinning materials may lead to a corresponding diminishment of torsional and flexural rigidity in an electronic device. Prior art solutions have led to the development of mid-frame structural supports which may be serially stacked and may provide some needed rigidity to a device. However, serial stacking may not always result in a lower profile in a z direction because any thinning of materials may be offset by a structural support element that might be required in an electronic device. As such, parallel configurations of structural supports for portable electronic devices are presented herein.